The Unnatural
by Fire The Canon
Summary: When Luna asks Hermione to help her investigate a new magical creature she has discovered Hermione thinks it is nothing more than a waste of time. But, as the days and weeks go by and she realises Luna knows what she is doing, things change: a lot of things change.
1. I

_**Written for the Write all the Ships Challenge (HermioneLuna)**_

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**I**

It was the strangest, most unnatural being she had ever come across. It completely fascinated her with its long, shaggy fur, the three horns on its head and the odd colour it turned when it was afraid. She wasn't even sure that colour had a name.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Hermione turned from the odd creature and to the smiling face of Luna Lovegood. Of course Luna would find the creature beautiful when even she, Hermione Granger, fighter for magical creature rights, was struggling to find something beautiful about it.

"It's… different," she said, trying not to offend her friend. "What did you say it was called again?"

"It doesn't have one yet," Luna answered pleasantly. "What would you like it to be called?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "M-me?"

Luna nodded, unfazed.

"I…oh… I… I'm not sure, Luna."

Luna frowned, studying the creature for a moment. "Hm, it kind of looks like a cross between a rhinoceros and a unicorn," she said.

"A _unoceros_." Hermione had meant it as humourless joke, but Luna beamed.

"That's a very fitting name!" she exclaimed, and as if it were settled, she pulled out a notebook and a quill, scribbling down some notes. "My father will be pleased to have finally named this. It's been bugging him ever since he found it two years ago."

Hermione blinked, unsure what to say. When Luna had come to her a month earlier, claiming that there was a creature in trouble, she had expected to be taken to somewhere such as the Malfoys who were mistreating house-elves again. What she hadn't expected was to be dragged away from her job, across to the other side of the world, to a forest so dense that humans could barely navigate, only to discover an animal that wasn't even attractive enough to make it to the Muggle fairytales.

Only Luna could think this was worth it.

"Oh, so we're going back now?" was all Hermione could think to say after the two of them stood there in silence for a good minute.

"Oh, no," Luna said simply, looking over the notebook. "No, there is still plenty to do before we go back. We can't just go back to the Ministry claiming we have discovered a new creature we named the _unoceros_. They have funny rules about that."

"Rules?"

Luna looked plainly to Hermione. "Yes. You would know about them, wouldn't you? That's why I asked you to come. You could convince them to process the findings faster, couldn't you? You've seen it now, so you know it's real. They'll believe you."

Hermione shook her head, not sure she was believing what she was hearing. Over her past days here she had gone through many reasons as to why Luna had asked her to go with her. Many had been obscure reasons that she regretted thinking of almost as soon as the idea had crossed her mind; but being there as a Ministry of Magic official to convince them why this creature should be recorded as an official magical being had not crossed her mind in the slightest. It seemed too _simple_ for Luna.

"Oh, so you won't do it?" Luna seemed disappointed.

"Excuse me?"

"You shook your head."

"Oh… no, no, nothing about that, Luna. I…." Hermione studied the smiling face of her friend and couldn't help but smile in return. It had been many months since she had seen Luna and oddly, despite everything, missed the young woman's company. "I'd love to help you," she said after a moment.

Luna beamed. "Oh, I knew you would!" she said. "I knew you were the right person to ask. You'd understand."

Hermione thought understanding might have been a bit of a stretch, but Luna was probably right when she said she was the right person. The majority of Ministry members had little time or patience for people like the Lovegoods.

"So," she began, "what else have you discovered about this… about this _unoceros_?"

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_**This is the first chapter of what I have decided is going to be a three-shot fic. Oddly, my first instinct was 'HermioneLuna... why?' but then I got an idea and am writing more than one chapter... oh well.**_

_**Please leave a review if you read this. I would love to hear from you!**_


	2. II

**II**

They spent two weeks in the deep forests of America finding out everything they could about the newly discovered creature. It was mostly Luna who did all the work, but after the first week, Hermione also became involved. It wasn't that she was actually interested in her friend's work, but the dedication she put into what she did fascinated Hermione.

There would be times when she would wake only to find Luna hunched over pages of notes at all hours of the day and night. Sometimes she swore Luna didn't sleep for days at a time, trying to discover something new. Surprisingly, she had come to enjoy her time here, even if it did take her away from her own job and home.

"Well, I think that's it."

Hermione was startled by Luna's shadow covering the sunlight that had been warming her through the window. They had been cramped in a one room cabin for weeks now, but even through the trees it warmed them immensely.

"Hm?"

"I think I've found out everything I need to know about the _unoceros_," Luna said matter-of-factly. "We can go back to London now and present our findings to the Ministry of Magic. They'll be delighted to have something new to focus their attention on."

Sadly, Hermione strongly disagreed with that statement, but she didn't let Luna know. She was so excited about this discovery and she may as well let Luna bask in her own excitement for as long as she could. Oddly, Luna's joy over this made her happy, too.

"Great!"

"We can leave tomorrow and we'll go straight there. Then I need to tell my father afterwards. After all, he was the one who first discovered it two years ago but he could never find another."

Hermione smiled despite herself. "Great!" she said again.

They spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for their journey back to England. Luna cooked dinner for both of them (which wasn't much considering they had scarcely had enough to feed two for the two weeks they were there) and they turned in early for the night. For the first time Hermione wasn't woken to the sound of quill against parchment but to the sound of Luna Lovegood's deep, peaceful breathing.

Looking over at her long-time friend she couldn't help but smile at how content she seemed to be. If she was being honest with herself, Hermione had paid very little attention to Luna over the years. Even when they had been part of Dumbledore's Army together, she had never completely understood the lack of logic she believed the girl possessed. But now, finally, she thought she was coming to understand; Luna had plenty of logic – she just didn't show it in the same way others did.

The next morning they were up and ready to leave at the crack of dawn. It wasn't until that moment Hermione thought to ask how they were getting back.

"By Portkey, of course," Luna stated.

"And… and you have organised that?" Hermione questioned, internally slapping herself. How had she forgotten about that? _She_, Hermione Granger, the highly logical one who had a stable job at the Ministry of Magic, had not even planned for her travel properly.

Luna nodded. "Yes, it leaves in fifteen minutes. I wonder what object it will be this time." As if that solved everything, she then wandered off, leaving Hermione to follow her. In the end, it was determined that the Portkey was in fact an old drink can that looked as if it had been used many times before.

"Oh, I am so excited to get back and show my father!" Luna said brightly, placing her hand on the Portkey. "He'll be delighted."

Not for the first time since being here, Hermione smiled. "I'm sure he will be," she said. For Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood were one in the same; and she was almost certain had she the chance to meet Luna's mother, she would be like that, too.

There was one minute until the Portkey left, and it was then that Luna looked at Hermione with wide, bright eyes. "Thank you for coming, Hermione," she said gently. "I really appreciated it."

Not sure if it was the Portkey making her uneasy or something else, Hermione felt her stomach twist inside her. She was silent for a long time until finally she felt the beginnings of herself being sucked into nothingness.

"Any time, Luna," she said. "It was a pleasure."

And then she was being pulled through the air, all the way back to England.

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_**So, I may stretch this to four chapters instead of the intended three. I'm not sure yet. We will see what happens in the next one! I hope you all liked this one, too, and thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows. Muchly appreciated!**_


	3. III

**III**

"Sir… Mr Jerome, if you could just look at these photographs, I can assure you that –"

"That will be enough, Miss Lovegood. Your family has been coming to us for years claiming to have discovered new creatures and all claims have been proven false. What was the last one again? A Crumple Horned… whatever."

"They turn invisible when people are around, sir. My father discovered that only a year ago. It is why we have never been able to see one with our own eyes."

As if bored, Jerome shuffled some parchment on his desk. With a sigh, he looked up to Luna. "I have important business to attend to, Miss Lovegood," he said. "And I am sure Miss Granger here would much prefer to be back in her office dealing with other matters of importance rather than listening to your squabble. It is none of my business what you and your family do in your spare time, but please – as we have asked over and over again – do not disturb us here." He passed the photographs back to Luna having not even looked at them. Before she could say anything else he picked up a quill and began to write.

Hermione, who had witnessed the whole thing and had not breathed a word, looked sympathetically to Luna. She gave her a reassuring smile and took up the chair opposite Jerome's desk.

"Excuse me," she said.

Jerome looked up, left eyebrow raised, but with a great more deal of respect than he had ever shown Luna. "Miss Granger?" he questioned. "Is there something you wish to discuss?"

Hermione nodded, taking the photographs from Luna's hand. She hadn't wanted to become involved if she could help it but she certainly wasn't going to sit back and let him bully her friend either. He may have been a close colleague of hers, but Luna was something different – someone of more importance to her than Jerome ever would be.

"There is, in fact," she said, and she laid each photograph out on the desk in front of him. "As you can see by these pictures, this creature Miss Lovegood claims to have seen is in fact real. They were taken by myself in the depths of an unexplored forest in America. And if that is not enough to convince you, you have my word that I have in fact seen this creature with my own eyes." It wasn't the entire truth, but it was close enough. He didn't need to know that Luna had taken those pictures long before she had even asked Hermione to go with her.

Now as if debating with himself internally, Jerome looked from Hermione to Luna and then down at the photographs. "You… you've seen this creature, Miss Granger?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Hermione nodded. "I have indeed."

"And you believe Miss Lovegood when she says… when she says it's real?"

Hermione pointed to the pictures. "I've seen what you've seen, Jerome. It is real."

As if this statement had ruined his whole day, Jerome pushed aside his other work and looked more closely at the pictures Luna had brought with her. With a stern look on her face and unmoving, Hermione waited patiently.

"Ah… well… I see… but… where did you say you discovered this creature?"

"Forests in America, sir," Luna answered politely.

This seemed to satisfy Jerome. Smiling, he pushed back the photographs. "Well, then," he began, "that would make the reporting and recording of this being _that_ Ministry's job. It is clear that it does not exist in Britain, and therefore, it is not my concern." He looked to Luna. "It appears you'll be taking another trip back sometime soon."

Hermione opened her mouth to respond in her friend's defence, but it seemed Jerome was no longer willing to listen to her.

"I will see you next time," he said forcefully. "Good day."

Hermione sat there for a moment longer, but when it was apparent he wasn't going to listen she indicated to Luna that they should leave. Once back out in the corridors of the Ministry, Luna stopped, facing Hermione.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling.

"I'm sorry, Luna," Hermione said. "Jerome isn't well liked by many, I can assure you. He's –"

But Luna cut her off, placing a kiss to Hermione's cheek and squeezing her hand. "You've done enough, Hermione," she said. "And I really appreciate it. But it's my business now."

Slightly stunned by Luna's sudden show of affection, Hermione brushed her cheek where Luna's lips had touched. "I –"

"Thank you again," Luna said, smiling at her. "But I know what I have to do now."

Hermione had no time to respond. Luna was gone, her long, blonde hair disappearing into the suddenly crowded workplace.

Touching the place where Luna had kissed her again, she smiled to herself. She would make sure Luna's mission was accomplished – no matter the cost.

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_**Okay, yeah, so this is obviously going beyond 3 chapters. I did not intend at all when I started writing for it to be a multi-chap, but it looks like that is what it's turning into. I am actually having a lot of fun writing this, so let's just say this will be ending when I feel I have accomplished what I want to write.**_

_**Thank you all so much for your reviews and favourites and follows again. I hope you continue to enjoy this.**_


	4. IV

**IV**

The forest seemed thicker than Hermione remembered it. Last time they had journeyed here she did not remember so many sticks and twigs cutting her legs and arms. Luna, who was leading the way, seemed undeterred by anything other than what she was back in that forest for.

"How much longer, Luna?" Hermione questioned as she stepped on a rather large branch. The force caused it to spring up, hitting her hard on the shins.

"Oh, I think it was here somewhere," Luna said as she continued on.

"You think?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, I couldn't be certain, though. It kind of all looks the same, don't you think?"

_Yes, it does_, Hermione thought. But she had just assumed Luna knew the way considering it was her third time visiting this creature.

It was probably another half an hour before Luna suddenly stopped. "Oh, look."

Moving closer, Hermione looked to where Luna was pointing, and to her surprise, not only was there one _unoceros_, but a whole family of them.

"They're beautiful."

"They are." Hermione had not seen the creature's beauty before, but now seeing them together she could see what Luna was talking about. These creatures were different, but they were interesting, and she had decided that she liked interesting.

"We should bring the American Ministry here now," Luna said gently, not daring to get any closer. "Let them see for themselves."

"Just take some photos," Hermione suggested. Too much noise would probably disturb them.

Luna dug into the backpack she had been carrying, extracting the old camera. Hermione stood back, allowing her to do what she had to do. She wasn't sure why she had agreed to come back after what had happened last time, but when Luna had asked, something had compelled her to say yes. The image of Luna's soft skin, blonde hair and pink lips against her had come to her mind but she had shaken them off like she had shaken off the rain that had come to the forest only an hour ago. That was completely beside the point.

"Do you think that's enough?" Luna was standing beside Hermione without her even realising and Hermione jumped. "Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione," she said pleasantly. "What were you thinking about?"

Hermione blushed. "Nothing," she mumbled. "How many did you take?"

"About twenty," Luna said.

Hermione nodded. "That's plenty," she said. "Come one, let's go and get this _unoceros_ put in the record books and your name a household name."

She had never seen Luna blush before, but it was something to behold. It showed that Luna Lovegood was, in fact, human, too.

"Do you think they'll believe me?" Luna asked.

Hermione smiled, nodding. "Of course they'll believe you, Luna," she said confidently. "They have no reason not to."

Luna returned her smile. "I hope they do," she said. "I'd love for those beautiful creatures to be recognised in the magical world." She looked to Hermione, her smile widening, and then suddenly grabbed the other woman's hand. "I'll lead the way," she said.

Hermione wasn't sure what came over her but she allowed Luna to lead her from the forest.

Together; hand-in-hand.

She smiled.

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_**I think I can finish this in 5! So stay tuned for one more :)**_


	5. V

**V**

Hermione was rather surprised – but pleased – to learn that the head of the magical creatures department in the American Ministry had much the same attitude towards the _unoceros_ as Luna did. He had delightedly welcomed them into his office with a wide smile and asking many questions about this supposed new creature they had apparently found. When Luna had shown him the pictures he had beamed, claiming that he had been looking for something like this for many years with little result.

"Miss Lovegood, your notes have been very helpful," he said, beaming at the pictures once again. "This will be processed as quickly as possible. We'll all be reading about the _unoceros_ in the school textbooks in no time."

"Thank you, sir," Luna replied politely.

"Please, call me Marcus."

"Thank you, Marcus."

Still looking delighted about Luna's news, Marcus began busying himself with preparation for this new creature that had been discovered. Luna, who also seemed very pleased with herself, left the office with Hermione close behind her.

"That went well, don't you think?" she said, beaming at her friend. "He seemed very excited."

Hermione returned Luna's smile, nodding. "He did," she agreed. "I'm happy for you, Luna."

"Oh, you helped, too, of course," Luna said. "I'll make sure Marcus puts your name on the findings, too. I promise."

Hermione shook her head, still smiling. She placed a hand on Luna's shoulder. "You did all the work," she said. "This is all you." That, and Hermione had her name in the history books enough as it was (not to mention to _Daily Prophet_ every other day). She would gladly pass up on this opportunity to be recognised once again.

Luna smiled again, taking Hermione's hand in her own. Hermione let her, happy to have Luna's warmth and gentleness there. "I couldn't have done this without you," she said. "I'm glad I asked you to come with me."

"I'm glad you asked me, too," Hermione answered, and it was the complete truth. She had started this journey out as a favour to an old friend; but as time had gone on and she had spent more and more time with Luna, she had wanted to be there. She had wanted this as much as Luna wanted it.

"Would you like to get some coffee, Hermione?" Luna then asked, still not letting go of her hand.

"I'd love to, Luna," Hermione replied. "Where should we go?"

Luna shrugged. "Wherever you want to go," she said.

Hermione nodded. They had started walking now, but it had only just occurred to her that neither had let go of the other's hand. It felt nice, being so close.

"Let's have a look, then," she said, and Luna smiled.

As they left the Ministry Hermione had a thought come to her: when they found a place, she would kiss Luna.

Luna would like that.

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_**Done! I did it in 5. Yay! I'm actually really happy with our this turned out considering RonHermione is my OTP and I normally hate breaking them up. But I like this, and I hope you all liked it too! Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you!**_


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